Porcelain
by Avelona-and-Sally
Summary: On a mission, Naruto encounters a vampire and gets bitten, then continues home without knowing about the side-effects. As new senses, powers and feelings emerge, Naruto discovers a thriving hunger for the Hyuuga heiress.  Naruto/Hinata
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Well, I think everyone's IC in this chapter… You let me know, 'kay? It starts out with Naruto liking Sakura, because that's the way it's been for a while and it's a bit odd to change it just like that – not that I don't think you shouldn't! …Who-ever *you* is.

_I don't like time-consuming author's notes any more than you do. Just saying that I've re-done this chapter and that there's more near the bottom than before._

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

The little [-M-]s separate 'scenes.'

Porcelain Chapter One

Smiling, Naruto walked down the path, the payment for his last mission swinging in his pack, along with a few bandages, snacks and other necessary items.

He was ecstatic about coming home; he'd gone on this mission alone – no-one else was needed, it was enough for him to handle – and seeing Sakura made returning all-that more fun. A light blush rose on his cheeks as his crush crossed his mind. Then he winced, thinking about how much damage she'd do if he was late again. Picking up the pace, he moved closer to Konoha.

-M-

Night began creeping closer in the form of a sunset. Naruto sighed. Either way, he was late by now, so why not make the most of it and relax? He focused the chakra onto his feet and climbed easily onto a thick tree branch, zipping his jacket up all the way to keep away the chill and munched on an energy bar of some sort, placing the money carefully in his lap to keep it from getting stolen.

The cold wasn't that bad, but it was a sure sign that winter was getting closer.

'_During times like these, foxes curl up and their tails help keep them warm,'_ Naruto remembered. _'But I doubt the Kyuubi would help me grow a furry tail to snuggle in.'_ He grinned, imagining a scene where he and Sakura cuddle together under a large blanket to keep warm, perhaps sharing a cup of ramen…

He frowned, _'Somehow, that just doesn't seem realistic. In any case, she'd want hot chocolate instead of ramen.'_ Naruto grimaced. He didn't like things that sweet. As nice as things like chocolate and cake were, they were cloyingly sweet on his tongue.

''_Ts probably something to do with the Kyuubi,' _thought Naruto, snuggling closer to the tree, _'Like how I heal faster 'n stuff. Probably c'n taste better, too.'_ His eyes started closing. Soon, he was completely asleep.

-M-

A jolt had Naruto's eyes snapping open, staring at the man in front of him. At first, the man's long, black hair had him thinking that it was Orochimaru – but that was impossible, Orochimaru was gone.

Although the man did look somewhat like him. His skin was pale enough to belong to Orochimaru and the grin was the same – that odd smile that he had worn whenever he looked at Sasuke. But the eyes were large and green, giving the stranger a cat-like appearance.

"I believe I've found you – my child."

"Wha-? Hey, Creep, I'm not your kid!" Naruto spluttered, teetering dangerously on the branch, catching the pouch that contained the payment just before it fell off his lap completely.

The man chuckled, "So naïve, but I suppose you'll learn." The smile that had looked normal enough at first grew wider to expose a grand set of fangs.

Naruto, who'd seen more than a few fangs in real life – certainly enough that he wasn't afraid of the man's peculiar feature – stood up on the branch that, in hindsight, seemed far too thin for such action. "You're gonna try and take the money. Or pick a fight." He fisted his hands.

"Don't be silly, Na-ru-to." – He didn't like the way the man said his name. It seemed too fond for someone who appeared to be trying to kill you. – "I merely want to give you something."

Momentarily deterred, Naruto relaxed, "Give?" he questioned, suspiciously.

The man nodded, "That's it." Naruto lowered his fists. However, as soon as he did, there was a flash of movement in his right peripheral vision. "Eventually, you'll thank me for this, Na-ru-to." A sharp, poking sensation in his neck, then…nothing…

-M-

"Mmm." He woke up to an uncomfortable, hot sensation on his face. Once he opened his eyes, he realized it was the sun. He sat up, looking around for the money, nearly collapsing with relief when he saw it hung neatly on a stump that stuck out of the tree. "Thank Kami." He breathed out.

He figured he'd hung around long enough, so he took the bag and began walking toward his village again, deciding he'd figured everything out on the way there.

'_Alright, so, when I was asleep some guy I didn't know woke me up and said he had something to give me, and called me his 'child.'' _He struggled to remember more, _'And before I passed out, I felt a pain about…here.'_ He touched his neck where he'd felt the thing pierce him, surprised to find nothing there.

'_Weird. Weird and I don't like it.' _He frowned, the heat of the day getting to him.

In the end, he decided to start running. It would get him there faster and the cool air hitting his face would help him cool off.

Soon enough, the front gate to Konoha was in front of him. He walked in calmly, allowing the guards to recognize him, then continued on his way.

"Hey, Kiba!" he waved to the other boy.

"Naruto! You're back!" said Kiba. Akamaru barked happily.

"It's pretty hot out today, isn't it?" Naruto grinned.

Kiba's brow furrowed, "Are you kidding?" he grinned, "It's _cold._ Kami, how many layers are you wearing to mistake _this _temperature for hot?"

Naruto stepped closer, "Really? Weird. I must've gotten warmer when I ran."

Akamaru whined. Kiba's brow furrowed again; he sniffed Naruto, "You smell weird."

"Um…" Naruto stared.

"Well, not _bad,_ I guess, just…weird."

"Uh, thanks, Kiba. I'm gonna go see Tsunade about my report." Naruto took a few steps away from the shinobi before waving and turning to go to where Tsunade should be.

The yellow-haired ninja shook his head, trying to rid it of the strange conversation, then picked up the pace.

Finally, he arrived at the Hokage's office. "Yo, Tsunade-baba!" he grinned and waved.

"Where _have you been?" _she questioned angrily. "Do you know that every time you come back late you had us worrying for however-long you were _supposed _to be _here?"_ she put her hands on her hips, her massive chest swaying with the movement.

"Jeez, Granny, relax. I got held up a bit. What's it matter? You said this'd be my last mission for a long time."

The woman sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration, "Just finish the report and turn it in to me, alright? Then you can go do whatever." With that, she turned and went to sit at her desk, leaving him to go back to his apartment.

-M-

Naruto had meant to do the report and have it in by sundown – he really did! But there were a few too many distractions…

When he got home, he crashed down onto his couch right away. Surprisingly, once he was inside, he felt a lot better. A conscious decision was made to take a shower. Quickly, he grabbed a towel and walked to the bathroom.

Clean water felt good against his skin. For a while, he stood there and let it run over his face, washing away the grime that had accumulated during the mission – two days without showering left him feeling odd.

After a while, he stepped out of the stall, glad for hot water. Next thing: toothbrush. He had gone a while without brushing his teeth. Interestingly enough, he liked the clean feeling afterwards, although the artificial minty taste that hid chemicals wasn't nice at all.

When he started brushing his back teeth, something annoying happened: his toothbrush kept knocking into his canines. He knew that, occasionally, they grew longer because of the Kyuubi inside him, but they generally didn't do so when he was performing boring tasks like brushing his teeth.

With his hand, he wiped some fog off the mirror and stared. His canines were half an inch longer than they originally were!

Using his tongue, Naruto felt the elongated teeth, still staring nervously at them in the mirror. _'They shouldn't be this long; they should be normal – or almost normal, or -' _He stopped. Were there any other changes about him? He still felt the same. Now using the mirror, he closely examined the spot where the stranger had pierced his neck – he assumed this was what happened, there were few other options and this one was more likely.

He continued staring at his teeth. Kiba had said that it was cold outside today, but he still felt really warm; could this be connected? He decided to test the sharpness of his new fangs by biting his thumb.

Unlike when he summoned toads, he had to put a lot less force behind the bite. Light pressure made a fairly deep cut – any more and it was possible for tooth to meet bone. Staring at his thumb, he continued to try and make sense of this when, to his utter shock, the wound simply closed up. It wasn't like healing at all – it was like there was an invisible zipper on the cut that had just been closed!

This couldn't just be a side-effect of the Kyuubi seal. If it was, it would've shown up before now. _'Tell Tsunade, tell Sakura, tell someone,' _the standard thought ran through his head easily. He started to go to his bedroom to change, then stopped.

What if they decided to keep him here for observation? Sasuke was still out there, there were still other things to do outside the village. He couldn't stay here on quarantine. And, besides that, he had a feeling that this wasn't the last of the changes he was going to experience. He knew if something happened that made him a danger – more so than he already was – he would, once again, be watched warily.

Naruto took a deep breath and went back to the mirror. He stared hard at his fangs; they hadn't been so obviously long before, and there was no reason for them to be like this now. There _had_ to be a way to hide them.

**-**_End Chapter One-_

Yes, I updated it. I improved it. Well, I had _better_ had improved it, otherwise I'm throwing my keyboard out the front window! Rawr!

Ah, Naruto's discovering his first few vampiric quirks. Let's review and share what we all think about this, hmm?


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Alright! Here we go, chapter two! Yes! …Does anyone know where my coffee mug went?

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Porcelain Chapter Two

Naruto continued to peer, nervously, into his reflection in a spoon. Currently, he sat at his tiny kitchen table, looming over the papers on which he was documenting his mission and a half-eaten bowl of dry cereal – he was out of ramen and milk.

His teeth looked normal – for now. It had taken an hour to get them back to their original state. He'd found that the more frustrated and nervous he became, they less inclined they were to un-grow. When he'd finally decided to calm down and boil some water for tea, they miraculously decided that he was calm enough to go on without fangs.

The tea had tasted great. When he opened the jar of dried leaves – a present from Iruka, he said these tasted better than the regular tea-bag kind he usually bought – he could smell exactly what was there. He smelled sage, mint and rosemary in the tiny jar. To his surprise, the shriveled, shrunken leaves hadn't grown into full-out blooming plants in his absence, which lead him to believe his better sense of smell was another change, like the teeth and healing oddity.

The aroma had proved to, indeed, come from the tea leaves when he tasted those same herbs in the brew. Soon enough, his stomach began to growl – the tea had, apparently alerted it to the fact that there was food in the near vicinity. Unsurprisingly, his fridge was nearly empty, save for some baking soda. It appeared that he'd cleared out all the shelves in his pantry as well, leaving only some canned fish, unused ketchup and an opened box of cereal.

Sadly, he'd forgotten to seal the dry breakfast food so that moisture could not collect within it and its original crunch had gone away, leaving only a half-assed crumble. He would've preferred it soggy if it was already like this, but the only thing he had to douse it in was water and, perhaps, tea.

That left him with a bowl of less-than-desirable cereal and a spoon that he had to wash before using. Swell. Eating half was a feat in itself.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. _'I'll go out for some ramen when I finish this,'_ he thought. He wrote the rest of the report quickly, looking forward to the ramen that was sure to taste better, now that he could smell all the ingredients as well. Finally, he put his pen down and went to put on a jacket, deciding to first drop off the report and then go out to eat.

-M-

"Hello, Naruto! How'd the mission go?" Ino walked up to him, her long, glossy ponytail swinging behind her.

"Not bad," he grinned back. "How was Konoha while I was gone?" While Ino wasn't necessarily his favorite person to talk to, it couldn't hurt to be polite.

"Same as always." She shrugged. Then, a breeze from behind her had her scent blowing directly in his face.

Ino smelled like a girl. Shampoo, conditioner, laundry detergent and, most dominant of all, the smell of perfume. It wasn't a bad smell, but it was certainly overpowering. He was glad they weren't such close friends that it was appropriate to hug her. He might pass out.

"That's good. I'm going to Tsunade's to give her my report. Do you know if - ?"

"Sakura's coming this way." Naruto blinked. He was actually about to ask if the Hokage was in her office, but he supposed that he would've asked where Sakura was, eventually.

"Naruto!" the pink-haired kunoichi jogged up to them, "You were late."

Naruto nearly gagged. Another, lighter breeze had started up – not as strong as the one that had carried Ino's scent, but useful, all the same.

Sakura's scent was nothing like Ino's. It had all the smells of a hospital, including the uncomfortable sanitary smell. The smells of various medicines and gross herbs had sunk deep into her clothes, skin and hair. The only other scent he was able to pick out was her shampoo, which was dislikable all in itself. The smell of artificial cherries had never really done much for him.

"Yeah, I'm sorry; I had better get this to Tsunade. It was great talking to you, though." He choked out. He definitely didn't want to find out what taste accompanied that smell. He swiftly ran towards the Hokage's office, not even glancing back.

_Damn. _Wasn't his girl supposed to smell great, too? How many times had he imagined burying his nose in her hair? _'Not while she's still a medical-nin,' _he thought. But then he realized that was unfair. They needed Sakura as a medical-nin and, besides, she couldn't control how she smelled. _'But Ino can,'_ he thought, _'Ino wears perfume, why can't she?' _

He sighed. Great. All these supposedly helpful changes were making him think his crush was in need of advice from the Vanity Queen. What a mess.

-M-

After he'd turned the report in to Tsunade, he walked at a leisurely pace down to Ichiraku's for his meal. By now, it was evening. The sky was changing into a rich indigo color; lamps were being lit.

An odd feeling of being watched descended upon him as he made his way to the ramen shop. Whoever it was, he could tell that they meant no harm, but it still felt strange to be watched like this.

A mischievous smile formed on his mouth. Silently, he turned and began walking in a straight line towards whoever it was that was observing him. A lock of dark hair moved quickly out of site as he approached the corner of the building in question.

His brow furrowed, "Hinata-chan?"

"Er, hi, N-Naruto." The girl came out from her hiding space.

He tilted his head to stare at her, "What's up?"

'Why have you been following me?' The unsaid question spread out and took over the air.

A large blush formed on the Hyuuga's face, "Well, I, um,"

"Ah! You want to eat too, right?" Naruto tried to find the answer himself. _'Her hair's really shiny; probably because of the lamps…'_

"I-I don't know." The girl said miserably, unable to find an excuse for her stalking.

"Well, that's okay. You can come to eat with me and then if you're hungry, you can order." Naruto grinned, "You didn't really have to follow me, y'know. Ya could've just asked. I won't say no to dinner with a friend."

"Okay," she said shyly.

"So, how've you been?" Naruto asked her, starting to walk again.

"I've b-been fine. H-How was your mission?" Her index finger curled over her thumb and moved to rest just under her bottom lip, making it seem fuller than it really was.

"Okay, I guess. So, how - ?" Naruto broke off.

Her scent was different from Ino's and Sakura's. Obviously she smelled better than Sakura; interestingly enough, he ranked her smell a little higher than Ino's. Ino's smell had been quite pleasant, despite the obvious fact that it had all come from plastic or metal bottles.

Hinata's was more natural, fresh. He smelled lilies and lavender – or was it lilac? – and water. Like both rain and waterfalls in one. It reminded him of bathing in clear streams; feeling clean and content; refreshed.

"What is it?" she asked fearfully, bringing her hands up to her face.

"Nothing!" he answered quickly, "Nothing, I just, um, thought I saw…something…" he shook his head and grinned, "How're things going with Kiba and Shino?"

"They're fine." She answered, wishing she had something more interesting to say.

Naruto sighed. If a conversation didn't get started up soon, it was going to be an awkward walk.

-M-

"Here we go. One for you and one for the pretty girl." Hinata blushed when she was addressed as such.

Naruto grinned, "Ichiraku's ramen is the best!"

The man chuckled, "I'm glad you think so."

Naruto was right – eating ramen was truly divine with his new senses. He could smell the good food before he'd even brought it up to his face.

"D-Do you like chocolate?" Hinata asked him almost fearfully.

"What?" he turned to her, not entirely sure he'd heard right.

"I-I mean, I made some, and I thought you'd like some to eat – b-but they're not sweet, because I didn't use too much sugar, since the cook didn't want me to waste her ingredients…" Hinata trailed off, blushing.

"Sure," Naruto grinned, glad that she finally said something, "I don't really like sweet things, anyway, so, yeah, unsweetened chocolate would be great."

"Oh." Hinata twiddled her index fingers nervously in front of her steaming ramen bowl.

In his head, Naruto sighed. Hinata-chan was nice, but she didn't seem to like talking to him that much. "Are you gonna finish that?" he pointed to her noodles.

Wordlessly, she slid them over to him.

-M-

"So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Hinata-chan."

"Huh?" He wondered if she'd been listening to him at all, or if she'd been daydreaming about being somewhere else.

"The chocolates." Said Naruto, "But that's alright, you don't have to give them to me if you don't want to."

"No, I do! I-I'll bring them by your house. Um, around six?"

He raised his eyebrows, "That early?"

"No, later in the day. I'm busy from morning to f-five." Was she allergic to _air,_ or something? Her face kept getting redder.

"Okay, then. I'll see you then, Hinata-chan. G'night."

"Goodnight."

The two separated easily.

-M-

He had slept in until one PM. 'Was such a thing possible?' he wondered as he hopped around on one leg, trying to put his pants on.

Once again, he'd failed to buy decent food, so he was stuck with the chewy cereal. He considered digging around in his pantry for the fish he'd seen a while ago, but that meant doing the dishes because he'd need a fork, in which case he'd have to buy a sponge – it was easier to finish off what was left in the sticky bowl on the table and toss it into the sink.

There was always one thing he hated doing when these missions were over – cleaning his supplies. Washing them, polishing them. Geez, couldn't he just turn them in to someone who _liked_ doing these things? It was the same with the dishes in his sink, except that ninjas had to keep their weapons clean, so he tended to them. There was nothing in the rulebook about dishes.

Then there was the other thing: bandages. There was very little trouble this time – an injured ankle, a few small cuts for which bandages were used, but even those had to be washed, otherwise there could be infection next time. Sheesh.

Dreading the rank smell of unwashed bloody cloth, he pulled open his sack and yanked the offending things out unceremoniously. If he could smell Sakura from a foot away, he did _not_ want to find out what his dirty bandages smelled like.

Sadly, he couldn't hold his breath forever. Right when he'd gotten them damp to start soaping them, he had to inhale. He did so through his nose.

A tempting aroma floated into his nostrils. An annoying poking sensation told him that his fangs had grown right back, as well. He growled in irritation and – although he wouldn't admit it – pleasure. This scent was better than anything he'd smelled before, ever. It smelled almost…_edible._

Naruto's eyes widened. _Bandages!_ Bloody, dirty, two-day-old bandages! Even the idea of them was disgusting! Why did he think they smelled _good?_ If the hospital smell was too much for him, then why didn't this bother his nose?

Never mind that, the smell was starting to fade. Glad that the slight mist that had gathered in his head since he'd first smelled the cloth was going away, Naruto scrubbed hard, using soap to get rid of the stains. When the things were white – well, _clean_ – he hung them up to dry on the door into his shower door and left, shaking his head in confusion.

The stupid mist hadn't disappeared all the way yet. It was making him itch to run around and claw and _bite. _He paced back into the bathroom to wash his face in cold water; perhaps slap himself a few times to clear his head.

He gathered up two handfuls of cold water and glanced in the mirror – and froze.

_His eyes. _Instead of their usual – _normal _– blue, they were now some silvery sort of cerulean. Along with the fangs and the positively feral expression on his face that the fog in his head had brought on, this made him look terrifying. Not human.

Shit, what the hell was going on? Naruto glared around at the rest of the room. A growl escaped him, sounding so satisfying he did it again.

Then he sighed. He was definitely acting like an animal now.

Alright, what did he know?

When he was nervous or stressed, his fangs grew out – he decided to ignore the fact that he'd started calling them 'his.' When he smelled bandages he got a weird fog in his head that made his eyes change color and got him all riled up. He could smell way better than before. And he could heal very fast.

Well, now that he knew what to expect, he could probably control it. Just remember to calm himself when it seemed like his fangs would come out, hold his breath when he was around bandages – and Sakura – and hide any cuts that he got from the others.

'_Alright,' _he stared evenly at his reflection, _'When is Hinata supposed to come over?'_

_End of Chapter Two._

A/N: Alright! I did it! This one's longer, too! Well, did'ja get all that? Be sure to leave reviews – I'm just about to wring my hands straight off their wrists from nervous-ness.

But, seriously, review-review-review!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Crud. Here comes the "school's starting, I'm so tired, cut me some slack," bit that I do every year.

The [-M-]s mean you're changing 'scenes.'

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Porcelain Chapter Three

"Um, hi, Naruto," Hinata murmured shyly.

It appeared that today her allergies to air had eased up, because there was only a light blush dusting her cheeks, although that worsened when he invited her in for tea.

Well, what was he supposed to do? He wasn't such a jerk that he'd take the candy and send her away!

Hinata stuttered a "Thank you," and stepped easily over the threshold.

"D'you mind staying in the kitchen for now? There's a mess in my living room and I don't want you to see it." Naruto asked.

She nodded hurriedly and took small, quick steps over to the place where he'd just set up the essentials for tea – leaves, a kettle, a teapot and two chipped cups. When Naruto returned, he was surprised to see her washing the unclean dishes in his sink.

"You don't have to do that." Hinata jumped, her hand slipped on the edge of a large knife – the only one he owned – a few drops of her blood falling into the soapy silverware below.

Naruto's eyes slid shut half-way as his fangs descended easily. The fog began creeping around his mind. But Hinata was his friend, not ramen. She wasn't edible – but, Kami, this scent was _so _much better than what was coming off the bandages from before. _The bandages!_

"Don't move," said Naruto harshly, still caught between his human and beast states.

Within a moment, he was back with fresh, never-before-used strips of cloth for Hinata's hand. There was no way in _Hell_ he'd let her see the tainted monstrosity that hung in his bathroom. He'd used the same ones ever since his first mission, washing them, mending them and the like, only leaving these for backup.

An impromptu plan formed quickly in his head – he used two strips to still the steady flow that was coming from her hand and tucked them away behind him. The rest he carefully wrapped around her broken skin – careful not to allow her to see any of his strange attributes. Once that was done, he took the bloody strips of cloth he'd used to wipe her hand and left without looking back.

Naruto locked himself in the bathroom, staring at the things in his hand. _Blood? _Was that what had triggered the reaction in him? But why did it seem so…? Not stopping to consider what he was doing, Naruto folded the cloth and placed it carefully on his tongue, then closed his mouth, crushing the moisture out of the bandage.

Delicious, creamy liquid coated his mouth like honey. He moaned, his senses more alert than ever. He smelled the chemicals on his bathroom counter, used to clean the thing; the faint stench that the very old paint had left and the remainder of his treat, the other bandage, resting on the white tile near the sink.

Soon enough, the flavor had all been pressed out of the cloth and he growled, pulling it out of his mouth, eagerly replacing it with the next bandage.

Once again, his senses roared – he could smell everything, see everything, feel everything and hear everything – including the frightened heartbeat of one Hyuuga Hinata.

Shit! He didn't take as long as he had the first time with this bandage, sucking out the fluid quickly, then easily walking into his kitchen, feeling perfectly in-control.

"Gomen, Hinata-chan, I was worried you might injure yourself, bleeding so much from a cut on your hand." Naruto explained easily to the shaky Hyuuga.

"I-it's alright." But it was apparent that she was still confused by his extreme behavior.

Naruto cursed inwardly. Then he added some self-loathing, too, because of what he'd just done and how casually he was treating the situation. His smile lightened at the pile of dishes, glad that there was some common ground that he could use. "Here; I'll wash, you dry."

Hinata nodded hurriedly, and pulled a clean dish-towel seemingly out of nowhere, quickly helping by drying and putting away.

Naruto inwardly winced at the uncomfortable silence. "So, Hinata, where were you today?"

"Hm?" she looked over at him, slightly puzzled.

"Well, yesterday you said you were busy…Never mind, if you don't want to share - "

"W-well, I was shopping for groceries. There was a sale at the store and I wanted to purchase some things…"

Naruto tilted his head, "Don't you live with your family?"

Hinata blushed at the curious look on his face, "Y-Yes, but I enjoy preparing food very much and the cook lets me use her kitchen sometimes."

Naruto nodded, "That's cool."

"Hai…"

The two slipped into an unsure silence.

"So… Is there any kind of food you like, in particular?" Naruto asked.

"Um…I like rice."

He looked at her strangely.

She blushed, "W-Well, you can use it in a lot of different ways! Everyone can enjoy it because it's so easy to adapt to any recipe."

"Huh," Naruto said, "I suppose that is a good thing, but what kind of rice do _you_ like?"

"O-onigiri. I like picnics."

"That's cool."

Soon – too soon – the dishes were done and the silence between them was as awkward as ever because neither could pretend they were too busy with rinsing or drying to make conversation. Naruto invited her to sit at the table and kept himself busy by putting the kettle on and selecting two cups for them to use. Using the knife that Hinata had cut herself on previously, he cubed the chocolate and slid it onto a plate. To entertain himself while the water was boiling, he arranged the chocolate squares into different piles. He stopped when he saw that Hinata was watching him and blushed, apologizing, which led to her stuttering out an apology for staring and him sighing that it was really no problem.

The space between him and Hinata seemed to have an electric current traveling along it, which made the whole situation even more frustrating. It was obvious that both of them wanted the other to say something, and he would gladly be the first, if only he knew a conversation that wouldn't lead to a dead end. When the kettle whistled, he wasted no time, getting to the stove at a comically fast speed, eager to get this over with quickly. _'We drink tea, eat chocolate, I complement her, she leaves.'_ It was a plan.

Naruto set the teapot down on the table carefully, unwilling to burn either himself or his guest, and poured each of them a large amount of tea. He then grabbed a chocolate for himself and popped it into his mouth, preparing for either an overdose of sugar or a bitter aftertaste. To his surprise, the chocolate was fine. It was more rich than anything else; the dominant flavor being cocoa. The texture was similar to what he had experienced with Hinata's blood – _don't think about that right now!_

"These are great! No, really, they're the best chocolates I've tasted!" Said Naruto to Hinata's polite I-know-you're-lying-so-I-won't-feel-bad smile. "I don't like really sweet things, remember?" Her smile became a little less professional and she looked down at her tea, another blush – her brain must be shutting down from oxygen deprivation by now – on her cheeks.

The silence grew more comfortable after that, and Naruto felt that she was content to just sit and sip tea for a while. Thus, it surprised him when she spoke up.

"Naruto?"

"Hm?"

The immediate – and possibly pushy – attention to her caused Hinata's blush to darken, but she didn't back down. "I've noticed that you don't really have a lot of the necessary utensils and things and I was wondering if you'd like some help shopping for more."

The surprise at her boldness stupefied him for a moment. He hadn't planned on buying any new plates or anything, but now that she mentioned it, he really should get some more, especially since he was a fan of leaving anything dirty in the sink until he absolutely _had_ to clean it. And, considering the dirty dishes they had washed before had been there for more than three days, it was a wonder that he and Hinata had managed to scrape the old food off of them at all. _'Of course she'd think you were gonna buy new ones – any normal person would, after seeing the crap that was on the ones you have now…Oh, Kami, I made her _clean_ them, too…'_ He looked down at his plate, ashamed – even more so, once he saw the chipped thing that Hinata's homemade dessert was on.

'_Be polite and accept her invitation, you uncouth slob,'_ he berated himself. "Yeah. That'd be great." A thought crossed his mind, "Actually, could you also help me with buying groceries? I mean, you're such an excellent cook, and I'm bad at choosing food from the store."

A small frown appeared on her face, "How do you choose what to buy now?"

"Er," he sheepishly scratched the back of his head, "I usually just get instant ramen."

"Naruto-san! You won't be able to function properly if you only eat ramen!" This outburst had him staring at her in shock for several moments before he laughed.

"You're right, Hinata-chan. So, could you help me, then?"

"H-Hai," she turned her attention to her index fingers which were nervously tapping together, all courage drained away by her last exclamation.

[-M-]

_His fingers ran up her side, tickling and leaving a trail of goosebumps. He grinned at her body's response to his attentions, slightly disappointed that she didn't give him a sigh or moan for his efforts. When his eyes met hers, his smile disappeared._

_The serious expression on her face almost worried him, but he didn't allow himself to think about the possibility that she didn't want this. He kissed without hesitating, all doubts evaporating when she responded eagerly. His mouth traveled down, licking her chin and then moving down to her throat, biting carefully, so that he didn't become overwhelmed by her blood again._

_She let out a mewling noise. Her nails raked down his back. He smirked at her frustration when she realized that her attempt at marking him healed instantly. He bit harder, leaving a mark on her throat, moving lower, marking her breast, her side, her hip…_

_A shaky sigh danced out of her lungs, hanging in the air before melting out of existence. He let himself inhale her scent, his face pressed against her pale stomach, before moving back to his previous position – above her, like a predator instead of a lover._

_His eyebrows furrowed at the slight wetness at the corners of her eyes. "You'll let me know if I hurt you, right?"_

_She shook her head no and he searched her face pleadingly for the answer. "Even if it hurts, I don't want you to stop."_

_He gave her a small, worried smile and bent down to gently press his lips against hers, turning the heated tryst into something more loving. She gave him an unsure glance, "Yours?"_

_He nodded, burying his face in her hair. "Mine," he breathed out._

[-M-]

Naruto glared at his reflection. Not only was it severely annoying that he was turning into a pervert, but the fact that he was dreaming about _Hinata_ like that, of _all_ people.

'_She's a nice girl who's been nothing but kind to you and you're thinking about getting into her pants?'_ His voice rang in his head – _'Mine.'_

…_What the hell?_ Hinata wasn't his in _any_ way. Hinata was most definitely _not_ someone he had any right to fantasize about.

He gave himself another bitter glance. _'You pervert.'_

[-M-]

Once again, the day proved to be sunny, although it seemed considerably cooler than the previous two. Naruto waited at the entrance to Ichiraku's as he and Hinata had agreed, although he was a little early. His dread for waiting there for too long disappeared when Hinata walked towards him with a bag that was surely meant for their food.

"Hello. Sorry – am I early?" She asked.

"Yes, but I'm early, too, so it's no problem," he replied. "Well, shall we get going?"

"S-Sure." Both of them stood there for another few moments. It seemed that Hinata wanted him to lead, but he really didn't have any idea where they were going. Would they buy dishes first, or food? A light breeze ruffled his hair. It felt cool and welcome on his face.

"Er… Lead the way, Hinata." The girl blushed and followed his order, stepping in front of him and walking towards the market. So they were gonna buy groceries. Okay.

Once again, the breeze started up, carrying Hinata's scent to him. He froze, fangs poking into his bottom lip. Was that _blood_ he smelled? Hinata's blood? Why would she be bleeding, she looked fine –

Naruto's face blanked. No way. She was… It was _that?_ Oh, no. And he was gonna be near her all day, too. _Shit…_

[-M-]

"Remember that when they're green that means they're newer than the other ones, so they'll l-last longer, although it would be best to wait and not eat them until they turn yellow. They taste better that way." Hinata looked up from the bananas and turned to Naruto. "You've g-got all that, Naruto-kun?" He was frowning in what looked like concentration. "I can write it down for you, if you l-like."

"Uh, no, I'm fine. _Woah, _those are expensive!" He gaped at the price underneath the fruit display.

"Most fruits are shipped here from far away, so they cost a lot," Hinata explained.

"Well, I guess that makes sense. D'you mind if we just don't buy any, then?"

Hinata shook her head and they moved along. Once she'd turned away, Naruto grimaced. Damn. It was getting harder to ignore her scent. He was grateful for the smell of all these foods, otherwise he'd probably be jumping on her right now, trying to bite her for the blood that smelled _so_ good.

"Naruto, are you sure you're alright?" Hinata walked towards him and he cleared his expression. Her scent washed over him; he fisted his hands. "D-Do you have a fever?" Her hand found his forehead, "Naruto-k-kun, you're really h-hot. I think you should go home, I-I'll buy the stuff you need."

He had a fever? He felt warm, but that was because of how close she was, he was sure. And, Kami, it was getting hard not to bite her, to search for the source of that _wonderful_ smell… He stumbled away. "Th-Thanks, Hinata. I'll leave the door unlocked so that you can get in, ne? Otherwise I'll forget about the food and step on it when I leave the house." What was he doing? He was calling her to _his_ _apartment?_ What if he lost it there? No-one else would be there to stop him.

"Okay, Naruto-kun. I'll bring ramen!"

He ran off.

Once he got home, his head cleared, but his fangs didn't go away. Why couldn't he keep himself in check? Could he be _any_ more obvious?

But with Hinata so close, with her blood within reach, after he'd already tasted it once… And that _dream…_ Naruto began to pant; the mist from before rolled in. His vision was turning hazy…

"N-Naruto-kun? It's me; I forgot to ask you if you had any noodles or if I sh-should buy some." Hinata's voice echoed in his head. He bounded to the door, the mist in his mind blocking out any logical thought. "Naruto? Are you all right? What're you doing?" He wrapped his arms around the girl, breathing in her scent, intoxicated. "N-N-Naruto? What - ?"

He bit her.

…

…

A/N: It was gonna happen and you know it! …Please review.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Holy crap. I actually did an evil laugh before opening the program.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

…

…

Everything. Everything was surrounding Naruto. The carpet under his feet could be felt. He could smell the dust on his shelves, the groceries in the bags not one foot away, and the clean, rainy smell that Hinata always carried with her. Hot, salty liquid filled his mouth; it came in an 'ebb and flow' fashion, soothing his throat and then disappearing, coating his stomach like rich milk. It was heavenly. Soft, feminine pants were breathed into Naruto's ear, sometimes accompanied by whimpers and something that may have been crying. His hold on Hinata didn't loosen.

He drank, and drank, and drank, feeling life and death and light all around him, smelling her fear and confusion, delighting in her taste. There was very little struggle now. The breaths that he heard from her were becoming less frequent; her whimpers and sighs weren't audible to humans any longer. Hinata was dead.

No. What was he – what was he _doing?_ In disgust and shock, Naruto threw her off of him, staring helplessly at her paler-than-usual form on his carpet. _"Hinata!"_ He knelt and lifted her, carrying her over to his couch and searching for a sign. A pulse; a breath, maybe. "Please, please, _please_ don't be dead. I didn't – I wasn't thinking. C'mon, you – you have – you've gotta - !" He swallowed. Frantically, he felt her neck and wrists for the feel of blood pumping through her body. A hissed apology, and he opened her shirt, not even thinking about the difference in genders, and lowered his ear to her chest.

There. A heartbeat. She was alive. Thank Kami. He bit his tongue, lip, cheeks, anything, trying to prevent saltwater from falling from his eyes because _he almost killed his friend_, not realizing that the only person who might've seen him was well-past half-dead as well as unconscious.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so, so sorry." He lifted her again and leaped out the window, hurrying towards the Hyuuga complex.

[-M-]

Hinata drifted in and out of consciousness, sometimes managing to stay awake to swallow the meager amounts of cool soups that were spooned into her mouth. She knew she had a fever, and moving – even drinking water – was difficult for her. She was constantly cold, and the three blankets that healers had permitted helpers to cover her in did nothing to make her shivers subside. And, unpleasantly enough, she could tell that, whenever she was awake, she was covered in dry sweat. Hinata wondered what she was doing when she wasn't awake that was causing her to feel like she'd just run a marathon every time she woke up.

It was decided that she had some sort of disease, but why they thought that, Hinata couldn't comprehend. Her neck felt sore, especially where Naruto…bit her. She couldn't remember the whole thing, only the feeling of blood leaving her, and the invasive, sucking sensation that came with it. Being bitten like that – well, it wasn't like she'd never had fantasies about her crush and, yes, some of them had included love bites, but that…wasn't, in any way, pleasant. She coughed, wincing when it created a poked-wound feeling. With some effort, she moved her hand to run her fingers along the place where he'd done it.

There was nothing there.

She didn't bother to feel for it again, assuming that she just wasn't thinking clearly. Sleep was what she needed right now, and worrying about Naruto's behavior wasn't helping her heal. Hinata leaned her head back, gathering the blankets more tightly around her. Damned air conditioning…

"_Hinata…"_

_The girl whirled around, trying to find the speaker, "Naruto?"_

"_Come here, Hinata. Hinata-chan…" Strong arms wrapped around her, pressing her to a firm chest, "Let me taste you again, Hinata…"_

"_What? No – that wasn't - " She struggled, trying to break away from him, "It – it hurt…" She stilled._

"_I'm sorry, Hinata-chan," Warm lips grazed her jaw, moving upward to press a searing kiss to her cheek, and then moving lower, once again tracing her jaw before traveling downwards and nipping at the place where her pulse fluttered._

_Hinata gasped and felt her moisture on her cheeks, "That's – that's not okay, Naruto. Stop – it hurts when you bite."_

_Naruto kissed the hollow below her throat, now having turned her around in his arms so that she was facing him. "It hurts when I don't. Do you know what happened to me, Hinata? Do you know why I did that?"_

"_N-no…"_

"_What if I told you I couldn't help it? Are you mad at me, Hinata?" He licked the tears off her cheeks, "Won't you look at me?"_

_She did so, moaning when her upturned face allowed him to cover her mouth with his and allowed her arms to encircle his waist._

"_You like me, Hinata. You're not mad at me."_

"_No… I'm not…"_

"_You're confused, not scared…"_

"_No…"_

"_Do you mind when I do this?" Naruto leaned down again, trailing kisses down her face and all over her throat, breathing deeply when he was closer to her jugular._

"_N-No…" She shook her head, trying to get rid of the fuzziness. Was this a dream? She stilled when Naruto kissed her chin, anticipating the deep kiss that followed. This couldn't be real._

"_Don't be afraid of me, Hinata. I like you, too." Again, their mouths met, and she felt herself being dominated, and somehow felt safe. She was safe with him._

"_Kami…"_

Hinata's eyes opened, and she stared at the ceiling for several minutes, trying to figure out what just happened. A dream. She doubted it meant anything, although she now felt a lot more comfortable with Naruto in general. Why _did_ he do that? It couldn't possibly be normal for him. And why her? Why not Sakura? If it was an action of lust, like her subconscious seemed to think, wouldn't he be happier with the girl he liked? This…was too much. She wasn't even – she was just trying to get closer to him! He asked her to help him go grocery shopping; it wasn't even a real date! What on earth was going on?

[-M-]

"Umm…Naruto?" Sakura knocked on his apartment door, noting that there was a slight noise of movement on the other side, "Hey, no-one's really seen you since you came back from your mission. It's been two days; you're not usually this quiet. Is everything alright? Are you ill?"

"Go away."

Kami – he sounded miserable. "What's going on? Why haven't you left your apartment for two days?"

"It's noth– it's none of your business."

The pink-haired girl scowled, "What the hell's that supposed to mean? When the Great Orange Energy Ball coops himself up in his house for two days, it's a reason to worry." There was no response. Not even an indignant _'Hey!'_ at her exclamation. Something was definitely wrong with him. "Naruto, let me in. Right now. Or I'll break down your apartment door."

A pause, and then the sound of a lock turning. Frowning, Sakura let herself in, expecting to find an empty apartment with one open window. Surprisingly, Naruto was right in front of her when she came in, not even bothering to hide. For a recluse, he looked great – there was a type of glow coming from him, making him seem like the healthiest person alive. His expression, however, was a different story. There was an odd, withdrawn look on his face; not apathetic, but more…introspective. He seemed to be thinking about something else entirely, and whatever it was, it wasn't something happy.

"Come in," he droned. His voice was far from the excited, energetic one she knew. _'And, for someone who's crush is visiting him, he sure isn't very enthusiastic,'_ she thought, annoyed.

As she walked in, her expression changed as well - to one of fear. _'What happened here?'_ One wall was cracked, as if she, herself, had given it an unfriendly, chakra-enhanced punch. Naruto's couch was missing a cushion; further inspection told her that what was _once_ a cushion was now a torn lump of foamy stuffing lying in the corner. Along with that, there were other, less noticeable messes in the room – a broken photo frame, a chair that was missing half a leg, and so on.

"Did you do all this? Why?" she whirled around, half-expecting her teammate to attack her.

The blond shrugged dejectedly, "May as well live in a hole if I'm gonna act like a monster." Not explaining further, he asked her to sit down, saying that he'd bring some food over quickly. 'Quickly' ended up being half a second, because he was in front of her again with a plate of chocolates faster than she could blink. _'The Hell…?'_

Sakura nervously took one, thanking him with a smile. "Yuck – why aren't these sweet?"

"Hinata made them – she didn't have a lot of sugar, or something like that," her friend explained, taking one for himself and appearing to savor it.

"So you don't like sweet things?" she asked. That was interesting. She loved them, although she rarely let herself indulge. Dieting was kind of pointless if, when you did eat, you ate junk food. Thus, salads and low-calorie soups were mostly what she ate, usually with a small caramel, as a treat.

"Nah…"

Too quiet. "So, I heard Hinata got sick. She's been out of it for…wow, almost two days. Weird, huh?" Sakura rubbed the back of her neck, trying to keep the conversation going. She was unused to this – usually, it was Naruto who did the talking. "No-one can figure out why, although people have been talking about blood loss being the case. Weird thing is, she doesn't have any wounds… What?" Why was he staring at her like that?

"Will she be okay? _Is it permanent?"_ He almost said urgently.

With a sly glance, she allowed herself to turn to something more comfortable for her, "Why? Do you _like_ her?" He continued to stare at her intensely, waiting for an answer. "I heard you guys went on a _date_ a while ago…"

"She was helping me with shopping," muttered the boy.

"Shikamaru saw you," A realization hit her, "Hey, did something happen? Is that why you won't come out of your apartment now?" She stood up, fisting her hands and putting them at her hips, mock anger on her face, "What did you do, Naruto?"

In response, the boy covered his mouth, a pained expression on his face. Not expecting this, Sakura sat down, putting a hand on his shoulder, "H-Hey? What's wrong? Don't tell me something _actually…_"

"What I did – was horrible…" Naruto ground out, removing his hand and placing both of them on his head, giving the appearance of a broken man, "I can't even _imagine…_" He turned to her, eyes panicked, "She almost _died,_ Sakura. I couldn't feel her pulse, she – she wasn't…"

"Naruto," Sakura's voice became serious, "Tell me what happened."

There was a long, long pause. For several drawn-out moments, he didn't look at her, watching the floor with dead eyes.

And then he did.

It all came out, starting with the encounter on his way back from the trip. The fangs, the eye color changing – he even bit his thumb again to show her how he healed. Sakura took this all in silently, occasionally asking questions that he had no answer to, and offering explanations of her own. As he told her, he seemed to relax, going back to describe parts with less anger at himself, and more detail. When he came to the part where Hinata came in, he quieted, tentatively recounting that day when she came into his apartment, and then suddenly cutting off when he had to say what he'd done.

"Naruto…did you bite her?" Sakura asked patiently. The entire story was alarming, to say the least. As it seemed, her friend now had a literal thirst for blood, and its focus had been their shy, caring friend.

He gave a quick nod, now covering his mouth again. Sakura sighed, turning his head to look him in the eye. Idly, she considered that this might be thought as a romantic gesture, but she pushed that aside, berating herself for thinking about shallow things at a time like this.

"You have to tell her."

He looked like she'd just told him she wanted to murder all of Konoha.

"She needs to know why you did it – she is absolutely the person who _most_ needs to know. Naruto, can you imagine what it's like to be her right now? Her crush almost ended her life via the Ultimate Hickey!" A beat of silence, and then _Sakura_ was covering _her_ mouth, once again telling herself off, this time for spilling Hinata's not-too-well-guarded secret.

"…Her _what?"_ Naruto's stare was now more surprised; absolutely blown away by what she'd just said, "I'm her – she's had a _crush_ on me? For how long?" A small vein appeared on Sakura's forehead, informing him that now was probably the time to drop his pink-haired friend's revelation and focus on the topic at hand. "I…I can't. I can't go up to her after what I did, it isn't even… I mean, she might not even listen to me, regardless of – of _that!"_

Sakura sighed and ran a hand through her hair, annoyed when she accidentally pushed her headband off of her head completely. Taking a moment to re-adjust it, she then fixed the other ninja with a piercing stare, "Fine, then. I'll tell her. She deserves to know, and your lack of a backbone isn't gonna stop her from doing so."

Naruto looked relieved, and more than a bit scared, "You'll tell her the whole thing? I mean, you'll explain why I…"

"Yeah, I will. But you have to get yourself together in the meantime."

The two of them looked around, Naruto's words summing up their feelings concerning his apartment:

"Oh, damn."

[-M-]

It was getting easier to walk now. Uncomfortable in the heavy robe she was wearing, Hinata took it off, hoping no-one would see her in her T-shirt and shorts, re-enforcing their less-than-desirable opinion of her. Hyuuga heiress, in her skin-exposing pajamas, and outside, too! The Elders would have heart attacks if they found out she was being so improper. Ignoring the cold feel of the breeze, she instead stared at the moon. It was about three-quarters of the way full, and very bright, due to the lack of clouds. Again, her thoughts drifted to Naruto, and his actions…

"You must forgive him."

Hinata whirled around, pale eyes wide. She was _sure_ that no-one was out here. She'd checked before discarding her robe! Not seeing anybody, she uneasily reached for a kunai that she'd kept in her robe, simultaneously pulling the garment on and firmly wrapping it around herself. "Who-who's there?"

"He couldn't control himself, you see. Instincts, and all that. They made him do it." There was a disappointed feel about the words, something like when her sister addressed her. And the way he said it…

"What do you know about what he did? I haven't told anyone." The steady tone of her voice surprised her, but she didn't let it show. Her eyes were hard, shining dangerously in the moonlight.

"I can tell why it was you – you smell so natural, unlike the other girls in this village." A wistful sigh came from behind her, and she pivoted to try and see her conversation partner. When that was unsuccessful, she activated the Byakugan, but even that proved useless.

"Answer my question." Hinata was getting nervous. Why couldn't she see this man?

"Let me help you," Out of the shadows, an eerie figure approached her. The man had long, dark hair, and very pale skin, along with expressive green eyes that shone more in the dark than eyes that color should. When he smiled, Hinata had to resist the urge to gasp – long, inhuman fangs poked out of his mouth. "Don't bother - I can hear your thoughts; your fear is evident."

"What are you?" she whispered.

His smile widened into a grin, "A vampire. And I believe you've already had an encounter with my kind," he gestured to her neck.

"N-Naruto…?"

"Please, let us talk." With a flourish, he directed her to her own porch, where she sat down warily. He joined her, and began what ended up being a long explanation about his kind.

Their conversation lasted half the night. Very often, Hinata would comment about something, or ask a question, and he would be forced to delve deeper into the subject, recounting history that he's learned while he was still young. When he'd finally given her enough information that she could be satisfied with her knowledge of Naruto now, he began to press his point about her,

"He owes you a favor, now that he's almost ended your life. I need you to ask him to meet with me." His tone was serious; Hinata understood this was a needed conversation.

"My father won't let me out of the house, I'm already on house arrest because I nearly got myself killed!" She argued.

"Friends visit you, don't they? Tell the next person who sees you that you need to speak with him – he'll come. Or, at least, he _should._ I haven't exactly been watching him; I assume he'll be honorable enough to see the woman who's life he almost ended."

A blush appeared on her face at being referred to as a woman – it was a small thing, but it was more of a compliment than she usually received. "I'll – I'll ask."

"Good. There's an alley behind his apartment building. Tell him I'll meet him there."

"Uh-huh." Still mulling over what had occurred in the last few days, Hinata turned to enter her house again.

"And, can I make a suggestion?" She turned to the unnamed vampire, who was watching her, amused, "Don't sit too close to him when he visits. One taste of your blood will only make him more sensitive to it the next time around. He hasn't had anyone else's, as far as I know, and yours _does have,_ as I've said, a rather delicious aroma."

Face burning, Hinata walked back inside without further comment. A loud laugh told her that the vampire had picked up on her thoughts on his last sentence. It was definitely time to go to bed.

[-M-]

"Hinata-sama, Sakura-san is here to see you."

"All right, thank you." Hinata sat up a bit straighter, nervously adjusting her blankets. This was good, as his teammate, Sakura wouldn't have to go too far out of her way to talk to Naruto. Breathe…

"Hi, Hinata-chan. I really need to talk to you – it's about Naruto. He was the one who…did this to you." Sakura let out in one breath, "But, see, it's not really his fault, On his way back from his last mission, this guy, he - "

" – Bit him." Hinata finished for her.

"You…you know?" Sakura's brow furrowed, trying to add this to her array of knowledge, "How do you know? Did he already tell you?"

"No – the man who bit him, he did."

"…_What?"_

"Sit down, Sakura-san, please. Let's tell each other what we know."

The pink-haired girl did so; quite shocked that Hinata seemed to know more about Naruto's condition than she did. They talked for a while, occasionally straying away from the subject and then returning to it, laughing at their absent-mindedness. The easy feel of this talk was different than the ones they had experienced with the males, and they were glad that this could be comfortable, rather than intense and solemn. At some point, Sakura, fully aware of the reaction this would induce, used her words for it – Ultimate Hickey – and then spent a short while trying to understand the other girl through all her stuttering. This was nice, to be able to talk like girls, and the two enjoyed spending time together. When Sakura left that afternoon, she made a mental note to hang out with Hinata more often.

…

…

A/N: Review, please.


	5. Chapter 5

Sakura paused in the middle of folding her laundry. A small, short sigh escaped her, and then she continued her work, arranging her favorite strawberry-red dress in a professional store clerk style, the way she liked it. Her room was neat and pretty, since she preferred it when her surroundings were nice-looking. Coming home from training wasn't pleasant when your room was a mess. When you were exhausted and injured, your place of rest had better be easy on the eyes. Anything else made for a disturbed evening.

"Sasuke, this is one of those times I _really_ wish you were here."

She'd liked the boy ever since she could remember, and found his clear thinking (among other good qualities of his) a relief from both Naruto's spontaneous ideas and her own emotionally-driven thoughts. And this was definitely a time for clear thinking. Naruto had changed into something inhuman and assaulted Hinata, who was currently trying to figure out how to get him to meet with the person who _turned him into this._ Well, actually, that was really _her_ job now. But telling Naruto wasn't exactly an emotional process for Sakura, as she was just an observer of the situation. …But _still._

It was always so much worse for the _observers._ The ones who couldn't _do_ anything substantial.

It was one of the reasons she'd wanted to become a medic-nin. It put her into the position that she'd longed to be in before – she wouldn't be waiting, she'd be _doing._ She wouldn't be stuck worrying about what was going on with her friends, she'd be taking care of them.

Come to think of it, it was exactly the opposite of what she was doing right now.

She huffed, dropping the last of her socks into a drawer and sliding it shut. No more fretting. Tomorrow, she'd tell Naruto and they'd figure this thing out. Right now, she needed to sleep and rest up for the next few days. She had a feeling she was going to need it.

[-M-]

Naruto yawned loudly, sitting up out of his bed and stretching lazily.

Without bothering to brush his teeth (or shower, or change, or splash his face with water), he walked slowly into the kitchen, working muscles stiff from sleep. The apartment was warm, exactly the way it usually was when he got up at noon. He filled a kettle with water and pulled out a packet of instant ramen, finding a yogurt cup to drink while he waited. With the pressure of what he'd done to Hinata somewhat abated, his appetite (for _normal_ food) had returned, and some ramen was exactly what he needed (even if Hinata might disagree).

The new kettle, courtesy of Hinata, with its un-dented bottom, had the water boiled quickly, and his breakfast was soon steaming. He demolished the ramen quickly, surprisingly full with just the one packet, and finished up the report Tsunade was probably bursting a blood vessel about. As a general precaution against faulty documents, all ninja had to fill out mission reports before receiving any more missions. For him, this meant his paydays getting too far apart. His apartment was old and decrepit, yes, but it was still owned by…someone, and he needed to send _something_ to the guy whose name was on the white envelope he got every month, otherwise he'd be accused of squatting. Not fun.

After writing out a crummy report, which he knew from experience would earn him a glare from whoever it was that had to look over it this time, but not an order to re-write it, he shoved it into an envelope and made a clone to take it to the Hokage's mail slot. He didn't have much desire to leave the house himself. The easy sunshine was making him sleepy and the light was a little too bright, even though he'd spent what should've been a sufficient amount of time up and about to prevent squintiness on his part.

Deciding to catch another half-hour of sleep before beginning training, he trudged back to his room and fell into his bed pressing his face into the wonderfully cool pillow and inhaling the smell of the dust particles floating in the rays between the window and the floor.

Only to wake up five minutes after falling asleep with a particularly shocking memory playing out behind his eyes. His clone had dispelled, bringing with its demise the news that Hinata had met with the stranger who'd caused his transformation.

The stranger wanted to meet with him.

[-M-]

Hinata's appetite returned full-force, Sakura's _miso_ soup being the main cause.

"You ran into h-him on his way to the Hokage's office?"

"His clone," Sakura said, gently stirring her soup to avoid blowing on it and accidentally getting some on Hinata's blanket. Not that she'd know from experience that that was what _miso_ soup did when someone blew on it too fiercely. Even _if_ it was at fault, for not cooling down on its way to the Hyuuga complex. "It probably dispelled and he found out. Unless it didn't dispell. But it probably did, if only to let him know."

"Good thing w-we can be sure of that," Hinata said, sipping her soup daintily, and scooping another warm spoonful of _miso_. "This is d-delicious, by the way. What is the recipe?"

Sakura paused, partly to recover from the shock of tomato-face Hinata eating her soup without her skin so much as pinking and doing it so elegantly, as well, and partly to think. "You know, I'm not sure. I think my mom just buys the pre-made cubes and adds them to boiled water. I told her you were sick, and she added some ginseng for you." Sakura smiled.

Hinata mirrored her expression politely, "That was very kind of her. P-Please tell her thank you."

"I will."

"Mm."

More genteel stirring and sipping. Hinata paused to scratch her neck, drawing the attention of Sakura.

"Does it…hurt?"

Hinata colored immediately; Sakura checked her watch. A record. "N-No, Sakura-san! It only itches a bit, in the – the spot…" Hinata pointed lamely to the side of her neck that had aided Naruto in discovering the truth behind his condition…somewhat.

"Let me check it," Sakura said, setting her soup bowl down as nicely as she could and walking over to brush Hinata's hair out of the way, her medic-nin's hands somehow still cold, despite her having held the hot soup not a moment ago.

'_Perhaps,'_ Hinata thought, _'It is just an innate quality of medics. Or they specifically channel chakra to their hands to keep them cold.'_ Still, she remained motionless, as seemed to be the universal reaction of anyone examined by an authority figure, whom, in this case, would've been Sakura.

"Oh, wow, it's really red." Sakura's icy finger trailed over the spot and Hinata jumped, suddenly realizing that an ice pack would've stopped the itching much better than constant scratching. Though it might've had the unfortunate side-effect of making goosebumps rise up all over her body, which Sakura's unexpected touch had just done.

"I-Is it?" Hinata asked, trying to get Sakura's face away from her neck, "W-What is wrong?"

"I can't quite be sure, but I think it's bleeding a bit, too," Sakura looked apologetic, "I'd recommend a salve, but I don't know how any remnants on Naruto's saliva would react to it, what with him not being human and all." Hinata nodded, placing her hand on the spot and satisfying the urge to scratch it again, pressing her lips together in embarrassment when Sakura gently took it away from her throat and set it on her lap. "Come to think of it, would your family doctor try and put one on you?"

Hinata nodded, "Y-Yes, probably."

"Do you have a turtleneck?" Sakura stood, walking over to Hinata's closet and opening it to her vast array of jackets, jackets and jackets. "O-o-kay. I think we might be able to work with this," Sakura said, pulling out a somewhat-formal sweater with some decorative stitching on the breast off the rack and holding it up for Hinata's approval.

The black-haired _kunoichi_ nodded, but furrowed her brow in contemplation of her pajamas and the room's array. "We'll have to re-arrange it in here so that it looks like I'm not as bed-ridden as wearing that would imply. I don't believe I have any sweaters that don't expose the neck suitable for staying in bed," she said, slipping seamlessly into 'ninja-mode'. "Besides that, I could start perspiring from the blankets or," she glanced at their abandoned lunch, "From the _miso_. It would be best to clean up." She pulled herself out of bed, stumbling a little and relying on Sakura to stand, before balancing and using the opportunity to stretch her legs without knocking over a tray rustling the bedcovers in a way unbefitting of an heiress.

Together, the girls began re-organizing the room, and then returned to their lunch on Hinata's floor, their trays serving as good a purpose there as when Hinata's bed had served as an impromptu height for eating off of with folding trays. The girls finished the lunch, made some more small talk, and bid each other goodbye.

And, without Sakura to pull them away again or draw attention, Hinata's fingers again began scratching at the itchy skin of her throat.

[-M-]

Naruto adjusted his weapons and various tools for the third time, ensuring they were out of view and unnoticeable – though, with ninja facing other ninja, it was close to impossible, as it was just _implied_ the other was carrying weapons – and heaved a sigh.

Sunset. Alley behind his building. Creepy Orochimaru wannabe to meet with. And he could've been eating ramen.

"Good evening, child," a voice whispered behind him. Naruto turned, his eyes fixed on the exact spot the sound had originated from.

"I'm not a child," he said evenly, "And I'm definitely not _your_ child."

"You don't agree because you do not know," said the man, now stepping out of the shadows and coming into an acceptable range. Perfect for _kunai_ and _shiruken_. "But you will. I'm afraid I've been a bit inconsiderate, with my abrupt departure so soon afterwards."

"Fine. Whatever. Change me back."

"Impossible." The answer came immediately, "What's more – you have already created another problem for yourself to address before you work on any of your own. Care to guess what it is?"

Naruto's shoulders lowered from their anxious height. Slightly. "Hinata."

"_Yes._ The beauty who smells of rainwater and lilac. Quite an abnormality. An endangered one."

"What do you mean?" Naruto felt his new fangs poke into his bottom lip; he opened his mouth to let them out, slightly satisfied in seeing the creep look a bit more apprehensive upon their 'unsheathing'.

"Your bite will have left Hinata in a dangerous state of infection," the green-eyed man clarified, "There are two options for her: death and vampirism."

"Vampirism. That's what I am? A vampire?" He'd heard of the rumors – colorful Halloween books from childhood described toothy, pale boys who drank tomato juice and turned into bats, and spooky dares from early Academy years told them to go into Attic No. 4 of the school building and risk getting every drop of blood sucked out of their body by an undead monster. The latter was looking close to his current condition and it had never sounded very appealing to him.

"There is…" the man hesitated, "…A way to reverse the process…"

Naruto's gaze snapped back from the shadows, which he'd been staring at in contemplation, to the older man's face. "I thought you said it was impossible."

"Because of the pain," the stranger said quickly, "The pain is unbearable and untolerable."

Naruto didn't take his eyes off the man, though it was difficult to trust them; he kept slipping in and out of his sight, like the dark was wrapping around him like a shroud and subsiding again. A neat trick for a _shinobi,_ but not a good one for an enemy to have.

"We're ninja," Naruto said, tone hard, "We're used to it." 

"You most of all," the stranger said with a sympathetic tone, reaching out a long, skinny-fingered hand consolingly, "Wouldn't it be nice to have someone like you?"

For a moment, panic flooded Naruto. _Jinchuuriki?_ Was that what this man was talking about? When he didn't elaborate, the blonde called his bluff, "Thanks, but I have lots of friends. One of them's in danger. Because of you."

The vampire scowled, "Fine, then. Bring her here tomorrow. I will explain the transformation to both of you." The shadows swallowed him again, but not before Naruto's speed had gotten him well away from him.

With some trepidation, Naruto realized that his attempt to dodge an uncomfortable conversation with Hinata was in vain, and he'd have to talk to her about it, anyways. Shit.

[-M-]

Hinata walked carefully down the dark street, hand deep in her jacket pocket, closed around a _shiruken._ With her miraculous recovery, she'd been able to put up a decent front to the few who'd visited her and convinced enough people she didn't need to be watched over during the night. Which meant sneaking out was much easier.

Currently, she was walking to Naruto's home, made extra challenging due to the fact that her recent sickness had still not abated as much as she'd told everyone and she most definitely _wasn't_ at the top of her game. Thus, the overly-paranoid walk and weapon-clutching. And the fact that every shadow looked like that creepy guy who'd made Naruto bite her. And that she was really, _really_ tired.

But she needed to see Naruto.

She needed to know what the man had said. And she needed to make sure he was eating the vegetables she'd bought for him, not just ramen.

She was ready to pass out by the time she reached his place, but managed to call out her name when he asked who was there and to smile a bit when he opened the door. She couldn't quite hear what he said after that, though, because the room was dimming slightly and it was very distracting. Naruto's eyes were still bright though, which was surreal.

Oh. They were silver.

She recognized this scenario.

He smelled kind of sweaty, and his hold was kind of tight, but the itching on her neck was gone. That was good, right?

Oh. It wasn't just dimming slightly, anymore. Black spots. She leaned into Naruto for support, delighted to find that her own strength wasn't required for standing up anymore.

"N-Naruto," she murmured, unsure why moving her jaw made her neck so uncomfortable, "Wh – What did he say?"

Oh. She couldn't hear him.

…

…

A/N: Long break, short chapter, see? I've managed to start and finish an eighteen-chapter fic, which got me all motivated to finish this one. Keep your fingers crossed, folks!

Rrreview.


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